Institute of Plant Sciences

The molecule we study is so plain
the inorganic polyphosphate chain

Our group studies a simple
molecule: inorganic
polyphosphate (poly P).
Poly P is a linear polymer that consists of a variable number of
phosphate residues
(from three to more than a thousand) that are
linked by energy-rich phosphoanhydride bonds. It occurs ubiquitously in all living cells and regulates many molecular and biological processes. Nevertheless, poly P is scarcely studied and little is known about poly P metabolism and its exact molecular functions; especially in eukaryotes. In our group we have developed methods to quantify poly P, to stain and localize poly P and to screen for poly P binding proteins. We are using these tools to investigate poly P metabolism and functions in fungi, plants and algae. However, at the moment our main efforts are devoted to the study of poly P metabolism in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and of poly P in fungal cell walls.